At least 54 people were killed when a bus burst into flames on a road in East Java, Indonesia, today.
The bus was taking schoolgirls returning from a holiday in Balito to their school in Yogyakarta when when it collided with a truck and a minivan on a coastal highway in Situbondo regency.
Police Chief Tugas Dwi Apriyanto said most of the victims were thought to have burned to death.
"They were part of a three-bus group. The other two [buses] have safely arrived at their school this morning," he said. At least 47 of the dead children were girls, he said.
Many victims were so badly burned identification may require dental records or DNA testing, doctors said.
Police said they had apprehended a man believed to have fled the scene with the driver of the truck. The driver was still at large. The minivan rammed into the back of the bus, police said.
It was not immediately known what caused the crash. Indonesia has a poor record for traffic accidents, especially on densely populated Java island.
Police rescue crews and volunteers worked under spotlights through the night to extract dozens of burned bodies, carrying them to ambulances on stretchers.